THE FIELD CENTER
for Children's Policy, Practice & Research

Philadelphia Department of Human Services:
Review, Recommendations, and Reorganization
of a Child Welfare System in Crisis

Field Center Faculty Directors remain at the forefront of child welfare system reform in Philadelphia.  In 2007, the Philadelphia Inquirer published a series of in-depth articles highlighting the failures of Philadelphia’s Department of Human Services to protect the lives of the city’s abused and neglected children.  The reporters relied heavily on the expertise of Field Center Faculty Director Richard Gelles in its reporting and critique of the system’s shortcomings.  Dean Gelles was instrumental in identifying systemic failures and the lack of adherence to best practice in the field. 

As a result of the series of articles, Philadelphia Mayor John Street convened a Child Welfare Review Panel to conduct an in-depth review of Philadelphia’s child welfare system.  Two of the Field Center’s four Faculty Directors were selected by Mayor Street to serve on this nine-member panel. Former Field Center Faculty Director Carol Wilson Spigner was appointed Co-chair of the panel and Faculty Director Cindy Christian, MD, served as the panel’s medical expert. 

The panel’s report was completed and delivered in May 2007 at a press conference led by Dr. Carol Wilson Spigner. Mayor Street, mayoral candidates, and the new DHS Acting Commissioner have committed to implementing the recommendations of this ground-breaking effort.